A Bloodstained Rose
by pinkcandy828
Summary: Sarasuki Akabara is haunted by her past that is stained with blood. When she trains to become a ninja, these memories only become stronger, and the idea of revenge comes into place. Will she be able to fight against the darkness that is so strong inside her?
1. Prologue

It all started on a rainy day.

The sky was a cloudy and gray; the streets slick with fresh rain, and if you ran upon them, you most surely would slip. Take child Daichi Kimura, for instance, who did that such thing and cracked open his head. Ah, what a terrible scare it gave his parents. Even now, if you look closely enough, you can still see the small white scar on his skull.

But I'm getting off topic, my apologies.

A woman, cloaked in darkness, scurries across the streets, a bundle of blankets pressed to her chest. Warm sweat mixed with cold rain drips down her face. Her breath is hoarse and tired. Yet, she does not stop. She does not stop for a while; until she has made it to her destination.

The destination she is to approach is a place many people of Konoha are familiar with. I am sure even you have heard of it. It is the area in which the Uchiha clan lived — or _had_ lived, if you are speaking in present terms. Such a tragedy.

She rushes through the residential area, her bright green eyes flickering at each house, searching for the correct one. She comes to stop at a cream house, only two from the end. She carefully steps up to the porch. She does not take off her shoes. She would not be staying long.

She knocks, or rather, bangs desperately on the door. She is wet, she is cold, and the bundle in her arms is starting to cry out. She does not have much time.

To her great delight, the door slides open. A woman stands behind it; dark hair, dark eyes, and fair skin. Kana Uchiha, is her name. Remember it. It will be important later.

The cloaked woman bows, and as she does, the hood of her clock is removed. Ink black hair tumbles free, and a delicate face is revealed. Kana returns the bow. She knows that woman well. She would sacrifice her life for that woman, if she had to. Luckily, that thought never came into reality.

At least, not in that way.

The cloaked woman unwraps the blanket. A pink faced, sobbing baby is unveiled. Kana's face softens. The woman motions for her to take the child. Kana hesitates, and the mother shakes her head. A wordless conversation is said through only their eyes. _Take her_ , the wind whispers. _Take her,_ please.

Kana gives in. She pulls the child into her chest, and its crying lightens to a whimper. She smiles.

When she glances up, the woman is already gone.


	2. Chapter 1

_The blood looked like red paint upon Kana Uchiha's pale skin. Her hair was tangled and scattered across the floor, covering her body like a black curtain. Her eyes were wide and staring into nothing._

 _Sarasuki rushed to her side, her knees falling onto the ground, becoming stained in red. Tears streamed down her face. No breath escaped the woman's body._

 _She was dead._

Sarasuki woke up to Kana wiping away the tears from her face. The woman brushed the damp hair our of her face. "You were screaming in your sleep," she whispered. Her dark eyes were filled with motherly concern.

"I had a bad dream," choked Sara. "You were laying in a puddle of blood. You were— you were _dead_."

"Shh," hushed Kana. She pressed a finger to her daughter's lips. "It's only a dream."

"But it seemed so real…"

"It's only a dream," repeated Kana. Sara did not look convinced, and the woman smiled gently. "Stop worrying. I'm going to be around for a long time. You can't get rid of me _that_ easily."

"Is that what you thought about Papa, too?" Sarasuki asked.

Kana tensed.

"Yes," she finally said with a sad smile. "Yes, I did."

"I miss him," the child suddenly said. "I miss Papa."

"So do I." Kana's eyes were distant for a moment. She then forced a smile, "But you know what? You still have a part of him with you. Always." She pointed delicate finger at Sara's eyes. "You have his eyes."

"His sharingan," beamed Sara.

"Yes, his sharingan."

"Is that why my eyes are different?" She asked her mother.

"Different?" Kana was confused.

"Sasuke said my eyes are different," she told her. "I have green eyes, but everyone else has black eyes. _You_ have black eyes, Mama." Her face searched for an answer upon Kana's face. She, however, did not have one. "Is that why the adults don't like me?"

"Now why would you think of something like that?"

"Sasuke said—"

"Forget about what Sasuke said," Kana said in an unnaturally strict voice. Sara looked at her with wide eyes, and she softened her tone. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"If he didn't mean it, then why did he say it?"

"I don't know," Kana sighed. "He was just playing, Sarasuki. I'll talk to Mikoto about it tomorrow." Sarasuki closed her mouth, saying nothing more. Kana decided it was time she put her daughter back to bed.

She pulled the bedsheets over Sara, and tucked her in tight. "Now go back to sleep," she said softly. "I'll see you in the morning."

"What if I have another bad dream?"

"Then I'll be right at your side to make it go away," answered Kana.

"Goodnight," the child hesitated.

Kana frowned. "Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?" Sara nodded with enthusiasm. "Alright, scoot over."

Kana Uchiha had intended to only lay with her daughter until she fell unconscious, but then sleep overtook her own self, and she ended up sleeping there the entire night.

She woke up to the light tap of wind against the window. It was another sunny day.

But that sun would not last long.


	3. Chapter 2

"It's only a few days," Ai Uchiha had told Kana one bright morning. "I'll be back before you even notice."

Kana bit down on her lower lip. Her knuckles were turning white around wooden spoon she was holding. It was not the time he was gone that worried her, it was the dangerous nature of the mission. One of these days, she thought, he was going to go on one of these missions and never come back.

And that scared her.

"Just be careful," she said quietly. "It's not just me and you anymore. We have a daughter to care for now. Remember that."

He smiled at her. "I know, I know," he waved a hand. "Family first." He kissed her on the lips, and she could not help but return his smile.

"Sarasuki," Kana called. "Come say goodbye to Papa."

The child came dashing into the kitchen. She launched a hug into her father and he chuckled. "I'm going to miss you," he said. His eyes met Kana's. "Both of you."

"Come home soon," Sara beamed.

"I will." The smile he gave her, however, was sad.

It was as if he knew what was to come.

The next three days it poured. Gray lines streaked the sky, a painter's brush upon a canvas. The wind blew with such force it made the windows howl. The sky was crying.

Inside, there was a foul, burnt smell filling the house. Sarasuki had ignored it first, preoccupied with a scroll her father had given her, outlining the handsigns ninjutsu consisted of. She, after all, was to attend the Ninja Academy soon. She wanted to be prepared.

However, the smell eventually became a nuisance and she abandoned her room to find where it was coming from.

It was the soup. The vegetable soup Kana had started to make for dinner. The yellow broth was boiling over, the sides of the pot dripping with foam. Sara sprinted over to it and turned off the heat. Slowly, the foam shrinked back into the pot. She let out a sigh of relief.

That was when she heard a muffled voice — a man's voice — and the accompanied sob of a woman. She ran towards the door. _Papa!_ She thought. _Papa's back!_

She stopped frozen when she saw it was Kana who was sobbing. And the man was not her father, it was someone else. She slid behind the kitchen doorway and listened carefully.

"I'm sorry to bring you such news," said the male. He glanced awkwardly around the rainy weather. His headband gleamed, the Leaf Village symbol encrusted into it. "Especially on a day like this…"

"Thank you," Kana choked out. She dabbed her face with a cloth. "For telling me in person. I know...I know in some cases that doesn't always happen."

He gave her a slight nod, his mouth a thinning line. "Ai was my comrade, it was the least I could do." He paused. "Also, uh—" He reached for something in a pouch at his waist with hesitation. "He wanted me to give this— _these_ to you."

It was a wrapped jar.

 _What_ is _that?_ Sara wondered. Kana took it into her own hands with confusion, and started to slowly peel back the cloth. She screamed.

Inside the jar was two eyeballs.

"It was his last wish. Ai wanted to give his daughter these. For sharingan."


	4. Chapter 3

The eyes hurt and hurt and hurt. Sarasuki screamed. The white of her eyes were tinted pink, and blood was streaming down her cheeks like red tears.

" _What's wrong with her?_ " Kana demanded.

The medical-nin frowned. She had never seen such a thing happen to a patient while in surgery. "The eyes — they're rejecting her body."

...

Kana Uchiha watched Sarasuki as she slept peacefully. Her face was relaxed, and the bloodstained tears had been wiped from her face. She looked...content; as if the surgery that had happened a few hours, never occurred.

Kana was relieved and scared. Relieved that her daughter had survived; scared of what may come next.

"Will she be able to use them?" She asked, glancing back at the medical-nin. She wrapped her arms across her chest. "The eyes, I mean."

"Yes," she replied. "However, I would not recommend it." Kana raised a brow and the nurse continued. "Activating the sharingan would cause her eyes to bleed out again, that is, if used too long. She would need to use it in short intervals — and even in this way, it would drain her chakra and leave her extremely weak."

"But she can still use it."

"But she can still use it," agreed the medical-nin. They were silent for a moment. The other woman gave Kana a slight bow. "If you'd excuse me."

Kana lowered her chin. "Go right on ahead."

In the hospital bed, Sarasuki was churning. She was having a bad dream; one that soon would become true.


	5. Chapter 4

No one could have predicted the Uchiha Massacre.

I certainly could not.

It was what I would call a true tragedy. A very sad day, indeed. My heart goes out to each and every one of those poor, poor souls…

Although, I am not sure how much that is worth.

Only two people survived that day: Sasuke Uchiha and Sarasuki Akabara. Sasuke was spared out of what some might argue as brotherly love; Sarasuki, one the other hand, was never of Uchiha blood from the start. Call it a curse, call it a blessing. Either way, she lived. Everyone else, however, was not quite as lucky.

Kana Uchiha, for example, was one of those doomed souls.

Sarasuki had found her adoptive mother drowning in a puddle of her own blood; her skin white as paper, and lips starting to slowly turn blue. Her hair was matted and sticky with blood, and eyes staring; staring into nothing.

It was just as her dream had predicted, and I think that was the most devastating part.

I do not think I have heard a child cry louder than I did that day. It was the most heart-wrenching sound I have ever heard.

She cried and cried. And then she screamed.

She screamed a lot.

Finally, when her mother's skin turned cold, and her tears had dried, the child stood up. Blood stained her hands and her once clean clothes, but she did not care. Her focus was elsewhere.

It was on Kana Uchiha's necklace, to be exact. A locket of white gold, heart-shaped, with her name written delicate Kanji. Sarasuki tore off the necklace, gripping it tightly in a fist, and raised it to her lips.

She then whispered a vow; one that she would later find will break her.

"I will never cry again."

For, crying was a sign of weakness, and she was done with being weak. She wanted to be strong. Stronger than any other ninja in Konoha.

 _...End of Part One..._

 _A/N: For almost ten years now, I've had this story playing out in my head, waiting to be told. And now finally, I have succumbed to writing it._

 _I hope you have enjoyed my story so far, and will join me on this long journey. Because this is only the beginning, and there is so much more to come._


	6. Chapter 5

Taka Hiroshi placed the paper on the Third Hokage's desk with a sense of uneasiness. The elderly man glanced up at her with slight confusion.

"What is this?"

She sighed. She had dreaded this day for a long time — and now, it was finally here. The day it all ends. The day she will resign.

Oh, how she could kill for a drink right now. Or maybe two…

"I'm resigning," she told him. He raised a bushy brow, and she swallowed. "I no longer want to train genin."

He grunted at her remark. "So you're just going to quit." She said nothing. He shook his head. "I expected much more from you. You are a talented ninja, Taka. You have always been. What has made you decide otherwise?"

"All my teams…" She licked her lips. God, did she want a beer. "They've all failed. I've trained _failures_ , Hokage-san. Do you know what that's like?" He stared at her; waiting. "It's like I'm drowning in disappointment, and I no longer can breathe. I'm _suffocating_. I can't do this anymore."

Taka stared down at the paper with her name sloppily written across it. She had been drunk when she wrote it. She wishes she still was drunk _now_. It would hurt less.

"What will you do?"

 _What are you_ , she thought bitterly. _My_ mom?

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I'll figure something out."

"No. No, you won't. You'll drink your misery away, Taka, and then you'll drown _more_. Being a ninja was the only thing that has kept you grounded. Are you really going to give that up?"

"No offense, Hokage-san, but this has already been long decided."

As in, yesterday.

"Very well," he sighed. "I hope you find something that you enjoy, Taka Hiroshi. You've served Konoha well."

"Thank you, sir." She bowed, and he returned the gesture. She then turned away.

"Although, it is a shame," the Third Hokage continued. "I had your new team already picked out. They are a good team; one that could use someone like you as their teacher."

She stopped walking, and turned.

The Hokage placed a folder on top of his desk. He patted it. "I have their information here if you want to take a look. It may change your mind."

She did not need to take a look, however. Her decision had been already made. She just needed him to give her one reason to keep trying.

She would train this team.


	7. Chapter 6

Sarasuki drummed her fingers against the desk, her fingernails making a slight clicking sound as it hit the polished wood. They had been waiting for at least an hour, and still their said teacher had not shown up. She was starting to wonder if they even _had_ a sensei at this point. Perhaps, she became sick…

Next to her, Daichi glared. "Will you _stop?_ "

"Will I stop?" She faked a sigh. "I don't know. _Can_ I stop? Yes. But do I want to? No."

" _God_ , you're annoying," he waved a frustrated hand at her, already giving up.

"No, I'm _Sara_ ," she told him. "I know we just met and all, but you could at least remember my name, man."

He huffed at her, annoyed. He glanced over at Sora. "Can you believe her?"

Sora said nothing, his milky blue eyes clear. Sara found that he was much more quiet than Daichi was. Daichi was increasingly loud.

She stopped tapping her fingers. It was even annoying _her_ at this point. She exhaled loudly. "You think she's a fluke?" She asked her new team.

Daichi raised a brow. "What do you mean? Like she ditched us or something?"

"Yeah," Sarasuki nodded. "Like she was like, 'you know what, nevermind. Those kids aren't worth my time'."

"I wouldn't blame her for it, if that's the case." Daichi's eyes were staring at the blackboard, green with streaks of white — old chalk that had not been erased fully. "I mean, look at us — we aren't much to offer. She could've killed herself for all we know." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, that's dark," muttered Sara.

"You should hear of some of the things that come out of _Sora's_ head. They're a hell of a lot darker than mine."

"I'm not dark," Sora disagreed. His voice was light and soothing; Sarasuki wished he would talk more. "I just see things as they are."

"Yeah, sure," Daichi snorted. "However you want to word it." The other male narrowed his eyes at him, but said nothing in response.

Sara stood up and headed towards the blackboard. She grabbed an eraser and then went to the classroom door.

"Now what are you doing?" Daichi called behind her.

"If she _does_ end up coming," she said. "This eraser is going to fall right on her face. Think of it as some sort of payback for being so _goddamn_ _late_." She pulled a chair up to the door and jumped on top of it. She then propped the door partly open and placed the eraser at the top.

"First of all," he said to her. "No one's stupid enough to fall for that. And second of all, she's probably not even coming. You're wasting your time."

"We'll see." She slide the eraser to the back of the doorway and hopped down, brushing the chalk off her hands. "We'll see," she repeated, turning towards her teammates. "How about this: if it _does_ work — which it will — you buy us dinner. If not, I'll buy the dinner. Deal?"

He pointed his chin up. "Deal."

Sarasuki grinned. She could go for a free dinner.

…

It took exactly three hours for their sensei to arrive. Do not question it. Sarasuki counted.

The door slid open, and the eraser fell, just as she had calculated — but it did not hit Taka Hiroshi as Sara had planned.

It fell right into her hand.

Taka slowly turned her head towards them. "Nice try."

Daichi mouthed, _I told you so,_ to Sarasuki. She frowned at him. She was certain that would have worked. Darn it.

"I am Taka Hiroshi," the woman introduced. She had short brunette hair and hazel eyes. Her skin was tan, and cheeks flushed. Her lips were scarlet red. "I will be...I will be your sensei."

It was not until their teacher started to stagger towards them, that Sara noticed there was something very wrong with her. She carried herself with an unbalanced posture, and was almost stumbled over her own feet.

"She's drunk," Sarasuki realized out loud.

"No shit," said Daichi. He did not look impressed.

"I only had a few drinks," the teacher claimed with a lazy smile. "No...worries." She hiccuped and covered her mouth. "No worries."

She walked forward and almost stumbled over a desk that was obviously in her way.

"I'm worried whether she can stand on her own," Sora said in a quiet voice. Daichi snorted at his remark.

Sarasuki ignored her teammates and slowly approached the woman. She touched her shoulder slightly. "Uh, Taka-sensei," she started. The woman reeked of alcohol. She wrinkled her nose. "Maybe you should...I don't know. Go home? Sleep it off."

 _Get out of here_ , she added to herself sourly.

The jounin gave her a red smile. "That won't be necessary."

And then she fell to the ground.


	8. Chapter 7

Taka Hiroshi did not mean to get drunk. Really. In fact, she had spent the majority of her morning trying to push the temptation of having a drink away. She preoccupied her mind with other things — with the cream folder of the team she was to now teach. Which, as it happens, only made her want to drink more.

Eventually, she gave in. As she always did. God, did she really need to fix this problem…

But today was not that day.

She pulled a bottle of sake out of her kitchen cabinet, and pulled off the lid with her teeth. She spat the piece of plastic to the ground. She would not need it later. She was not planning to save this bottle for another day. She took a gulp and laid out the contents of the folder.

There was pages and pages of background information, along with a few pictures. She pushed away the neatly written pages and stared at the colored photos.

There was two boys, one with messy brown hair and the other with silver, and one girl who had black hair and striking green eyes. They all were so young, so unaware of what they would face as a ninja.

Taka hated the thought that she would be the one to tell them of these things. She would be the one to tell them that they would see people die; their comrades die; each _other_ die.

She took another gulp of sake. Their faces blurred, the straight faces turned to smiles. Now they did not seem as bad; as intimidating. They were happy. Just as she was right now.

Happy…

But that was only the alcohol doing that to her, was it not?

She pushed the alcohol bottle to her lips and drank until the room started to spin around her, and everything seemed like it was going to be okay. That's why she liked being drunk — everything seemed okay.

And by early noon, the bottle was empty; and she was wasted.


	9. Chapter 8

"Is she dead?" Daichi asked. He nudged Taka Hiroshi's side with the toe of his foot. She unconsciously batted his foot away. "Not dead," he corrected. "Darn it."

"What do you _mean_ 'darn it'?" Sarasuki said. "She's our sensei!"

He looked at her with a flat expression. "Well, it would be easier if she was."

She exhaled. _Drinking sadly doesn't work like that_ , she wanted to say, but decided not to. It was not worth the words. "What are we going to do with her?" She asked instead.

"Leave her." Daichi waved a hand at her. He turned away, starting for the door. Sora gave her an apologetic shrug and followed behind. _Thanks for the help_ , she thought bitterly.

"Wait! We can't just leave her here," Sara exclaimed.

He stopped walking.

"Why not?" He raised a brow at her. She hesitated for the right words. "You weren't thinking of us actually _carrying her_ , were you?"

Her mouth was dry. It _had_ been what she was thinking, however she was not going to admit that. "No, of course not," she swallowed. "It's not right just leaving her here, though."

Daichi sighed loudly. " _Fine_."

He walked back to her side and grabbed Taka by the waist. He looked back at Sara. "Don't just stand there," he grunted. He then nudged his head towards Sora. "You too, man. Help."

The three of them lifted the teacher up and began to drag her out of the classroom. " _God_ , she's heavy," Daichi muttered. "We better get something in return for doing this."

"She buying us dinner." Sarasuki said it as if it was already decided. And, in her mind, it was — as she was set on making that idea become reality.


	10. Chapter 9

"I'd like to apologize for what happened yesterday," Taka Hiroshi proclaimed. "It was not how I should've introduced myself."

 _It wasn't how I wanted to meet you either_ , Sarasuki thought. She had a hand pressed to her cheek, bored, as their sensei continued with excuses. There was no need for an excuse. She had been...well, drunk. Nothing to explain.

"...if there is any way I can make up up to you—"

"Lunch," Sara exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly. Daichi shook his head at her. She cleared her throat. "I mean, you could buy us lunch, sensei. Then we could get to know each other better, yeah?"

The woman thought for a moment. "I guess that's the least I could do."

Sarasuki cheered. "I vote we eat dango then!"

"But that's a sweet," Daichi complained. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "We're talking about lunch here..."

They ended up going to Ramen Ichiraku, despite Sara's suggestion. She did not mind in the end, however, as she thoroughly enjoyed the tonkotsu she had ordered. Her mouth had watered upon its arrival, the aroma coming off it not of this world. It was heavenly.

"How about we introduce ourselves," Taka started. She placed down her chopsticks, finished with her ramen.

"Again," muttered Daichi. "Introduce ourselves _again_. We've already met."

She rapidly waved his words away, a forced smile on her lips. Her cheeks were flushed pink. "Yesterday doesn't count, Daichi-kun," she said quickly. "But since you're so keen on the idea, why don't you start. Tell us your name, maybe a hobby or two, and what your goal as a ninja is."

He let out a loud sigh. " _Fine_. My name is Daichi Kimura," he said, his voice flat of enthusiasm. "I like to sleep, _and_...my goal? I really don't have a goal."

 _Sleeping doesn't count as a hobby_ , Sara thought.

"None at all?" Asked Taka. He shrugged at her. "That's okay! Maybe you'll come up with one later." The corners of her lips twitched. Sarasuki thought that perhaps the cheerfulness she was putting on, was not as truthful as it may seem. "Sarasuki-chan, why don't you go?"

"It's Sara. Just Sara," she corrected. "And...I guess besides training, I like to bake sometimes." Or at least, eating the food she made. She was not all that great at making food, in all honesty. "And my goal is to become the strongest kunoichi in Konoha."

"Do you have a role model?" Taka had a hand brushed against her cheek. She had a slight smile across her face, and eyes were studying her.

"The great Tsunade-sama, I guess," replied Sara thoughtfully.

"Good." Taka turned towards Sora. "How about you Sora? What is your goal and hobbies?"

Sora straightened his posture. "I'm Sora Ueda," he said slowly. "And although I don't do it often, I like gardening. As for my goal, I solely want to carry on the name of my clan."

"Ah, of course. An understandable goal," she told him. He nodded back. She turned to face all three of them. "Well, I guess it's my turn now." She cleared her throat. "I'm Taka Hiroshi. I like…"

"Drinking," Daichi interrupted.

"Yes, drinking," she sighed. "And also cooking. I'd like to think I can make a mean steak. My goal is to — well, I'd like to be able to train a formidable team."

"Having you'd already done that, sensei?" Sarasuki asked with curious eyes.

Taka gave her a sad smile.

"Not as well as I had liked to." There was a small tone of sadness to her voice, although Sara could not figure out the reason why.

"Anyways," Taka continued, forcing a smile. "Now that we've all introduced ourselves, that means we're officially a team, yes? Team 13."

"What an odd number," Sara whispered to herself.

Little did she know, the number would later become more that just a number. It would become a curse.


	11. Chapter 10

_The room was pitch black. Sarasuki could not even see her own hand as she waved in front of her face. She took a step forward, searching for the light. She stepped into something warm and sticky with her bare feet._

 _The lights suddenly flickered on._

 _A puddle of blood was all around her. And in the middle of it, was Kana Uchiha. Her adoptive mother. She staggered back._

 _Those dark, lifeless eyes stared at her, just as they had on that night…_

Sara woke up drenched in sweat. She sat up and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "That dream," she gasped. "Always that dream."


End file.
